Rat Experiences
by Healer Pomfrey
Summary: After receiving the map from the twins, Harry falls ill and has much time to study it. Just a little drabble, set in Harry's third Hogwarts year. Completely AU, sick!Harry


**Rat Experiences**

**by Healer Pomfrey**

_All recognizable characters belong to J. K. Rowling, and I am not earning anything by writing this story._

_I am not a native speaker of English. Please excuse my mistakes._

* * *

Harry woke up to his room mates' voices that sounded annoyingly loud and cheery this morning. '_Oh right, today is the second Hogsmeade visit_,' he remembered. He excitedly opened his eyes, only to close them again right away, noticing that the dormitory was strangely blurry. '_Somehow, I feel like crap_,' he thought in annoyance, realising that his ears felt completely clogged up and he felt cold, although he knew that the dormitory and especially his bed were always warm and comfy. '_But I want to go to Hogsmeade this time_,' he decided, resolving to ignore any signs of being sick. '_Maybe I'll feel better after a hot shower_.' Not feeling hungry anyway, he spent a long time in the bathroom, letting the hot water run over his limbs that seemed to continuously become heavier.

"You missed breakfast," Hermione said reproachfully, glaring at him as he finally dragged himself into the common room.

"I wasn't hungry," Harry replied in a small voice. "I'm going to meet you at Hogsmeade. I'll take my invisibility cloak and follow you as soon as McGonagall and the other teachers return to their rooms."

Hermione gave him a sharp look as he let out a few harsh coughs. "Harry, are you feeling all right?" she asked in concern, taking in his slightly flushed cheeks and the sweat that was threatening to drip down from his temples.

"I'm fine," Harry replied impatiently. '_If only my ears cleared up and my chest didn't hurt each time I swallow_,' he thought in desperation, quickly slapping Hermione's hand away, when she tried to feel his forehead.

Hermione rolled her eyes in annoyance and turned to Ron. "Shall we go then?"

"Of course; I can't wait," the red haired boy replied eagerly. "We'll see you at Hogsmeade then, mate."

Harry accompanied his friends to the entrance hall, where McGonagall and Flitwick checked everyone out for the day.

"Mr. Potter, you know as well as I do that you are not allowed to go to Hogsmeade," the Gryffindor Head said sternly as the trio approached.

"I know," Harry said sadly, feverishly trying to suppress a coughing fit as he waved his hand towards Hermione and Ron. '_Oh no, I forgot my invisibility cloak_,' he realised, groaning inwardly at the thought of climbing back all these stairs to Gryffindor. He slowly turned around and walked away.

Only a few minutes later, the Weasley twins cornered him. "Harry, we decided to give you a present," they cheered, handing him a parchment.

"An empty parchment?" Harry queried in confusion, causing the twins to chuckle at his puzzled expression, before they finally explained everything about their secret treasure, the Marauders' Map.

"This is the safest way for you to get to Hogsmeade," they informed him with mischievous grins on their faces.

Harry thanked them profusely and returned to his dormitory to put another Weasley jumper under his robes and fetch his invisibility cloak. He longingly glanced at his bed that looked strangely inviting today. However, the thought of roaming and exploring Hogsmeade together with his friends was even more appealing and he slowly left his dormitory.

Unbeknownst to the boy, in spite of his Head of House's stern exterior, she had a soft spot for Harry ever since she had baby sat him when he was a year old. She had noticed instantly that something was wrong with him. As soon as the last student, who was supposed to attend the Hogsmeade visit, had left the castle, she walked towards Gryffindor in order to check on her little lion. To her surprise, she met Harry on the way and observed in exasperation how he held on to the wall as he slowly dragged himself downstairs, coughing every now and then.

"Mr. Potter, where do you think you're going?" she asked sternly, taking in his half-open eyes that were glazed over feverishly.

"Just.. fresh air..." Harry mumbled weakly, trailing off as he felt the professor's ice-cold hand on his forehead.

"Mr. Potter, you're ill," McGonagall said firmly. "Let me take you back to your dormitory."

'_Not to the hospital wing?_' Harry wondered with a mixture of confusion and relief, unconsciously leaning onto the older witch's arm. By the time they reached the dormitory, he felt absolutely miserable and sighed in relief as he let himself sink into bed.

"No Mr. Potter, don't fall asleep yet," McGonagall said sternly, causing him to open his eyes again. "What exactly is ailing you?" she asked in a much softer voice as she pulled a tissue out of her robe pocket and transfigured it into a thermometer.

"Just feel a bit dizzy," Harry mumbled, feeling too awful to try denying anything.

McGonagall looked at him in concern. "Let me quickly check your temperature, before I decide if we need to call Madam Pomfrey back from St. Mungo's," she said softly and gently coaxed the thermometer under his tongue. "It's all right, Harry. You may close your eyes. Just stay awake for an instant," she said, apparently noticing that he could barely keep his achy eyes open. While they were waiting for the reading to register, she gently bathed the boy's flushed face with a cold cloth.

Harry sighed in relief when the professor pulled the annoying cold device out and mumbled something incoherent when she told him that he was running a high fever and that she was going to fetch Madam Pomfrey. "Try to rest for a while, Harry," he was told and gladly complied. He woke up again to hushed voices nearby that he recognised as that of Madam Pomfrey and his Head of House.

"Mr. Potter caught the hippogriff flu," Pomfrey said gravely.

"What does he need?" McGonagall asked, her voice laced with apparent concern.

"Absolute bed rest for at least two days," Pomfrey replied firmly. "I'll contact Severus and ask him to bring you the potions that he needs..."

Harry drifted back to sleep, while the Healer gave his Head of House further instructions. All of a sudden, it seemed to Harry as if the Healer's voice turned into that of the Slytherin Head of House.

"Mr. Potter, sit up and take your potions," Snape instructed him sharply.

Harry tried to raise his head, but as soon as he slightly opened his achy eyes, he felt so dizzy that he let himself sink back quickly. Surprisingly gently, the Potions Master steadied his back and pulled him into a slightly sitting position. "You may keep your eyes closed. Just swallow," he told him in a soft voice that made Harry obey automatically.

The potion took effect instantly. Harry immediately felt much better and was even able to open his eyes.

"Better?" Snape queried, giving him an assessing look.

"Yes sir. Thank you very much," Harry replied gratefully.

"Very well. Stay put. If I catch you out of bed with as much as a foot, you're going to serve detention with me for the rest of the weekend," Snape threatened, nodding to McGonagall, before he turned around and crossed the room with his black robes dramatically billowing behind him.

"Harry, is there anything I can do for you?" McGonagall asked kindly.

"No, thank you, Professor," Harry replied in surprise. '_I never knew that McGonagall could be so caring, but I hope she stops making a fuss like Hermione_,' he thought as the teacher instructed him to sleep and promised to check on him in a while.

Harry sleepily let his eyes wander around the dormitory, glad that the world had stopped spinning around in front of his eyes and that he was allowed to stay in his own bed and hadn't been taken to the hospital wing. '_The Map_,' he suddenly remembered. He reached for his robes that McGonagall had placed over the chair next to his bed and pulled out the map.

'_Dumbledore is still walking around his office_,' he noticed with amusement, before he searched for the Gryffindor common room that was deserted apart from a few first and second year students. When his eyes fell on the third year boys' dormitory, he saw in disbelief that another black dot was near his own. It was labelled, '_Peter Pettigrew'_. Harry stared at the map in confusion. '_But no one is here_,' he thought, '_and according to the map, the person has to be in Ron's bed_.' He unconsciously rubbed his forehead as he felt his headache return full force. '_Maybe I should put that map away_,' he thought miserably and closed his eyes, drifting off into a fevered slumber.

While he was sleeping, a black dog and a tabby cat entered his dormitory. '_They're all right_,' Harry thought. '_I know them. They often roam the grounds together_.' However, when the dog left again after jumping around his bed for a few minutes, the cat suddenly grew until she had reached the form and size of a griffin. Harry couldn't understand what the griffin said to him; however, he felt that it was breathing ice at him. "No, it's so cold," he whimpered, only to realise that the griffin apparently understood him and began to breathe fire. '_That's probably Peter Pettigrew like the map said_,' he thought and croaked, "Leave me alone, Pettigrew. It's too hot." He tried to lean away from the large animal, when the dog returned. Harry only felt relieved for an instant, before the dog grew as well and suddenly held a wand in its hand, waving it at Harry. '_Why does a dog have hands?_' Harry wondered, shivering startled as the animals took the forms of McGonagall and Snape.

"Welcome back to reality," Snape sneered, causing Harry to look at him in confusion.

"What happened?" he mumbled hoarsely.

"You had a nightmare, Harry," McGonagall explained softly. "The alarm, which Professor placed on you, alerted us that your fever spiked."

"But the griffin... It breathed ice and fire at me, and Peter Pettigrew was here..." Harry interrupted himself to let out a few harsh coughs.

The two professors exchanged terrified looks. "Harry, you're still delirious," McGonagall said, eyeing him in concern.

"What do you know about Pettigrew?" Snape queried sternly.

"He was on the map. It said he was in Ron's bed earlier," Harry replied in a small voice, trying to turn around to look at his friend's bed.

"What map?" Snape asked, before he waved his wand at Harry and slightly shook his head. "No Minerva, his fever dropped two degrees."

Harry pulled the map out from under his pillow, feeling too miserable to care with whom he was sharing his new treasure, and handed it to the stunned teacher. He looked at the professors in disbelief when they suddenly turned around, training their wands at Ron's bed.

"Reveal Peter Pettigrew," Snape hissed, waving his wand, before McGonagall pointed her wand at the rat that was just trying to flee from the dormitory.

'_That's only Scabbers_,' Harry thought in confusion but slightly flinched back, when his Head of House stunned the rat and transfigured it into a man. He looked closely at the man, noticing that he was missing a finger. '_Just like Scabbers_,' he realised, tuning out the heated communication that began between his teachers and the rat turned man as his headache flared at the loud voices. Noticing that the room began to tilt again, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep.

When he woke up, the room was entirely quiet again. McGonagall was sitting on the edge of his bed, reading an old tome. She looked up when Harry coughed, seeing that he was awake. "How are you feeling, Harry?" she asked crisply, giving him a sharp look.

"Better," Harry said, wondering why the professor had stayed with him. "I'm sorry for bothering you."

McGonagall looked at him in disbelief. "You're not bothering me at all, Harry. It's not your fault that you're sick, and I wanted to make sure that you were able to get some rest." She let out a long sigh. "There is also something that I need to speak with you about. I don't know if anyone ever told you that Sirius Black is your godfather?"

Harry shot the professor a terrified look, before he slightly shook his head. "No professor."

To his surprise, the teacher's mouth stretched to a small smile. "Then I have a pleasant surprise for you. Apparently, Mr. Pettigrew was your parents' Secret Keeper and committed all the murders, for which Mr. Black was imprisoned. Mr. Black seems to be completely innocent. Messrs. Black and Pettigrew will have a trial commencing on Monday morning, and Mr. Black is supposed to be free after that. At the moment, he is having a discussion with Professor Dumbledore, and in the first five minutes of the conversation, during which I was present, he already made it very clear that the first action, which he is going to take after the trial, will be to obtain the guardianship over you."

Harry let out a surprised gasp that turned into a coughing fit. "I have a godfather, and I'm going to get away from the Dursleys?" he enquired in disbelief. Seeing the professor nod and smile, he asked worriedly, "Professor, am I delirious?"

McGonagall smiled. "No Harry, Professor Snape's potions worked well, and you're not delirious anymore. Now I suggest that you try to get back to health as fast as possible, so that you'll be able to spend the winter holidays with your new guardian, if that's what you want." Seeing that Harry did not show any reaction, she said soothingly, "You don't have to decide that now. You haven't even met him."

"He can't be worse than the Dursleys," Harry replied softly. "When can I meet him?"

McGonagall glanced at her watch. "I'll ask Professor Snape for a dose of the preventing potion for Mr. Black and I'll bring him here, if you feel well enough to meet him."

"Of course," Harry said eagerly. "Ever since I can remember, I dreamt that someone would come and take me away from my horrid relatives. I'm so happy that my dream finally came true."

One of her rare smiles appeared on the professor's face when she replied, "Harry, I am very happy for you, too. Congratulations."

**The End**


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